VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL – A drug trafficking organization distributing heroin and fentanyl in Volusia and Lake counties has been dismantled after a six-month investigation that culminated in a series of arrests and seizures of cash and drugs at locations across both counties.
The ringleader, Brandon “Buddy” Carter of DeLand, and supplier, Kamari Mott of Daytona Beach, are both behind bars.
Mott, 38, was arrested Thursday during the execution of an early-morning search warrant at his home on Hampton Road in Daytona Beach. Carter, 35, was arrested May 1 after a traffic stop in DeLand, where he resisted a deputy and tried to discard a large bag of heroin and fentanyl by throwing it over a fence into a yard where a family was gathered. He has been in custody ever since.
Beginning in January, deputies and detectives used confidential sources, surveillance and controlled purchases to identify the organization’s members. Starting Thursday, law enforcement officers fanned out across Volusia and Lake counties, arrested several suspects and executed four search warrants. Those search warrants yielded more than 500 grams of cocaine, $38,000 cash, various pills and two handguns.
The dismantling of the organization was a joint effort led by the Volusia Bureau of Investigation and the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution with assistance from the East and West Volusia Narcotics Task Forces and the Deltona Narcotics Enforcement Team. Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Attorney General Ashley Moody commended the hard work that led to the arrests.
“Their work is never done, but today the men and women who put together this operation should be proud of their success shutting down another drug trafficking ring in our community,” Sheriff Chitwood said. “We’re saving lives and improving quality of life for everyone when we put these organizations out of business.”
“The opioid crisis is destroying lives and Florida families,” Attorney General Moody said. “Today’s roundup of opioid traffickers is just a small glimpse into the dark underworld hiding just outside public view. We must fight this crisis on multiple fronts—through criminal-interdiction operations, substance-abuse treatment and even at our nation’s southern border. I believe this action by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and our Office of Statewide Prosecution will save lives, and I will continue to work with Sheriff Chitwood and all of our great law enforcement leaders to stop the influx of these deadly drugs.”
The Volusia Bureau of Investigation is a Central Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program that investigates drug trafficking organizations. The Volusia Bureau of Investigation is comprised of members from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police departments of the cities of DeLand, New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater.
The East Volusia Narcotics Task Force is a street level drug task force comprised of members from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, Edgewater, South Daytona and Holly Hill police departments. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Daytona Beach Police Department also assisted with the investigation
Those taken into custody last week were Kamari Mott, Brandon Carter, Terry McMillon Jr., Willie Newton, John Harris, Nicole Hurley, Lauren Jenkins, Christopher Kelly, Michael Kelly, Devin Owens, Gary Bruce, Laurie Gilb, Glen Floyd Jr., Rutger Mikell, Shane Nash, Donovan Newland, Matthew Suzin, and Taylor Hamlin.
In addition to the defendants already in custody, several more have been identified and have warrants outstanding for their arrest.
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